1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a golf club in which the hosel and shaft assembly in which the "angle of connection" of said assembly to the head may be selectively set. The present invention also relates to a method of assembling the club.
2. Discussion of Background and Relevant Information
A golf club conventionally includes a grip, a shaft, typically metallic and tubular, connected to a hosel which, in turn, is connected to a club head. The assembly of the shaft and hosel is generally achieved by nesting one within the other and bonding with epoxy, whereby the two assembly parts become solidly affixed to the head with complementary support zones. The head of the golf club constitutes the physical ball-striking element of the club. To aid in correct striking of the ball it is necessary to have the sole of the club head remain parallel to the putting surface, the hosel and shaft assembly thus forming an angle (alpha) with respect to the vertical.
The angle alpha, which can be defined with respect to the vertical or with respect to the horizontal, as shown in FIG. 4, constitutes the angle called the "angle of connection" or connecting angle of the assembly of hosel and shaft in relation to the club head. The angle alpha is most commonly called the "lie" by golfers and golf equipment manufacturers.
The ideal "angle of connection," of hosel and shaft with respect to the club head varies according to the golfer and depends, essentially, on the position of play, the stature, and the personal preference of the individual golfer.
Thus, one seeks, particularly in the case of precision clubs like putters, to be able to easily modify the "angle of connection" of hosel and club head without violating USGA Rules specifying a minimum divergence of 10 degrees from the vertical angle of the combined hosel and shaft in relation to the horizontal sole plane, i.e. where the sole of the putter head is parallel to the putting surface. It is also desirable to be able to modify the total club length by modification of the length of the shaft, to adapt it to the playing position and personal preference of the golfer.
Currently, different solutions have been proposed to resolve the foregoing problems.
One solution is to provide the desired "angle of connection" of shaft and hosel at the time of manufacture. Such a solution is expensive, in view of the need for a separate mold for each angular difference. Thus, this is an impractical and unsatisfactory solution.
A second solution is to achieve the desired "angle of connection" of shaft and hosel in relation to club head by deformation of the shaft to achieve the desired angular difference between club head and shaft. This is not a practical or satisfactory solution in view of significant deformation of the malleable shaft causing fatigue and possible breaking of the shaft. Further, as the deformation is often done manually, the "angle of connection" is not obtained with sufficient precision.